Cheap Digital Camera recommendations for use by a 3 year-old
7This may sound a little strange, but I’ve gotten great advice from all of you folks out there on the web before, so here goes:
I’ve been thinking about getting a present for my daughter’s 3rd birthday. This morning I was struck with an idea – she already loves taking pictures with me, both as a model and as the photographer – she loves my Nikon 990 because it gives instant gratification when you share the photo thumbnail with each other right after the picture is taken.
Of course, the Nikon 990 is (a) too heavy, and (b) too expensive to let her use regularly, and besides, it’s my camera.
But as an experiment, I would love to get her a cheap, kid-friendly digital camera that she can use and have as her own. I think it would be incredible or her to go back to these photos later in life, and relive the perspective that she has now. I’m sure that most of the shots will be total crap, but then again, so what? Storage is cheap, and it is not like we’re wasting film and burning cash.
Here’s my requirements in a camera:
- Small enough to grip with kid’s hands
- Lightweight
- Rugged enough to handle short drops, minor spills, etc.
- LCD screen on the back (this one is important, it gives instant feedback)
- Auto-exposure mode
- At least 640×480 resolution
- Approx. $100 or less
I don’t really care if it is new or used (used is perfectly fine), or the number of megapixels as long as it can create web-ready pictures. An auto-flash would be nice, but it isn’t necessary.
I went looking on e-bay tonight, but unless you know exactly what you want, it’s really hard to wade through all the chaff. I just don’t want to be made into a sucker by buying a chintzy piece of crap. Perhaps an older generation camera that has seen some wear-and tear and seen some love by someone who has now moved onto a next-gen camera would be perfect for my project.
Any ideas? Leave a comment below.
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I’ll be really interested in what you find out, since I’ve been looking for about the same thing for 6 months and haven’t found it yet. the closest was a Concord digital camera
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006LFIQ/qid=1046250991/br=1-2/ref=br_lf_p_2//002-1190359-9428859?v=glance&s=photo&n=507730, but the price was too high and the reviews too low.
I bought a Sipix camera but the optical quality was worse than a disposable, blurry fisheyes, and it didn’t have an LCD.
We may have to wait until the next holiday season.
See you at Stanford — I wish you could bring your AP — I sent my MAC address to Stanford but don’t have much hope.
Veo has a 1.3MP camera with LCD for $99.
http://www.veo.com/Capture1300/specs.asp
What about the KBGear JamCam?
(If you can still find one…)
Otherwise you might try looking for a refurb. I got an Olympus last year as a refurb and it was $140, doesn’t quite break the sub $100 mark, but that was last June…
I saw a Barbie digital camera on a yahoo store for ~$50.. takes 640×480 pics….
I was thinking about the same thing, but since my son is still a bit young, I have time on my side to bring prices down and features up. But I took a quick spin through Amazon and saw a couple possibilities.
HP PS120 ($92) – Looks quite promising – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000063EN0
iClick 350 ($50) – I can’t tell if it has a color LCD – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000064735
iClick 1.3M ($90) – Again, looks like a big LCD, but can’t tell (and their site doesn’t tell either) – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006JN7M
My first digital camera was an Olympus DL-220. Shoots at 640×480. It has a simple slid cover for the lens that turns the camera on and only a few buttons. My 7 year old picked it up 2 or 3 years ago and I’ve never been able to get it away from him since.
Actually the big benefit is instant gratification and no film processing costs.
hi im actually looking for a digital camera for myself and my mom doesnt think im “responsible” enough to get a good digital camera so if you get a cheap one that works great let me know!